


Until Journey's End

by blue87



Category: Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-27
Updated: 2021-01-25
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:29:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 16,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28369164
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blue87/pseuds/blue87
Summary: We all know and love Minecraft, but what would it be like to live a life, in real life, inside of the game as a player? That's the life that Skylar lives. Given one task, with no explanation to why it needs to be done, she lives her life everyday doing nothing but working towards that goal of fulfilling her destiny. Will it ever pay off? Will she ever get a break? She can only hope.*this isn't going to be long, it's pretty short and meant to just be kinda random... i hope you enjoy it nontheless!!
Comments: 13
Kudos: 2





	1. Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> hiiii so i started a minecraft boook haha! I hope you love reading it as much as I love writing it! Minecraft is such an important game to me and being able to write about the game has made me so happy already!! 
> 
> i highly recommend listening to Minecraft music while reading, it makes it better in my opinion!!  
> here's a link if ya wanna listen!!
> 
> Minecraft FULL SOUNDTRACK - posted by Luigi  
> https://youtu.be/Dg0IjOzopYU
> 
> enjoy!! :D

Light. That was all that poured into her eyes as she stared back up at the sun. She quickly closed them as she rolled over to her side, pushing herself off the ground as she looked around her. She quickly noticed she was in a plains biome. Better than her last world; she had gotten stuck in a jungle biome. It had taken her 3 days to get out, dying twice in the process. 

She spotted a cow over by some flowers, convenient considering she needed food. She hated killing animals, but until she hopefully found a village, she’d need to eat meat. After chasing the animal around for what felt like forever, she collected the meat and leather from the grass, watching her experience bar go up as she sighed. 

She knew that she needed to start collecting materials, but so much of her was too exhausted to do anything; it had been a hard week. 

So far, she had attempted to free the End almost 7 times. Failing all of them rather quickly and being kicked from the worlds as a consequence. She never understood why she’d be kicked out of the world if she made it to the End and died, but she did. 

She wanted more than anything to just settle down in a world, not having to kill some stupid dragon for reasons she didn’t even know. It had been that way for as long as she could remember. Just her, all alone. No one else, villagers being the only exception, to talk to or be with. 

She sighed, walking over to a river that was near her. She scanned the water, checking for Drowns. She couldn’t see anything, so she ran over to the bank and stood over it, staring at her reflection. 

She inspected her face first, it didn’t look like she had any cuts on it. Either that, or it was blending in with the few freckles that spotted her nose and cheeks. She reached her wrist, pulling the sleeve of her black jacket up, as she grabbed for a hair tie. She pulled her thick, red hair back into a ponytail, continuing to stare at her reflection. 

The tear on her blue jeans had been torn even more from her last attempt in the End, a cut was visible through the hole... it didn’t hurt much though, and so she didn’t mind it. 

She zipped up her jacket, taking one last look at herself through the water, her nametag hovering over her like some sort of label that would determine who she was. “SkylarS” was what it read. 

She rolled her eyes as the sun suddenly started dimming, rather choppily. She sprinted down the riverbank until she was in a more open area, looking around for somewhere she could hide. 

A smile creeped across her face as she saw light emitting from an area by a snow-covered mountain. “a village” Skylar mumbled as she took off running towards it. In almost 3 minutes, she was approaching the establishment. 

She slowed her pace as she entered the area, smiling as a gardener started walking her way. “hello?” He asked. Skylar smiled, “Hi... uh, how are you?” The villager smiled in return, “good. Who exactly are you?” 

Skylar looked around more nervously as more villagers started walked towards them, “Skylar Sherlie. I’m a builder, mainly. I’m looking to settle down somewhere and wanted to see if here would be a good fit.” The villager’s face lit up, “Nice to meet you Skylar, my name is James Goodman. I can take you to talk to the village leader if you’d like!” 

Skylar nodded as James turned around and started walking towards a big cobblestone building. The village leaders always stayed in the big stone buildings, something Skylar also never understood. She steadied her breathing; she hated this beginning part of new worlds. All she could do was hope that the leader would be willing to let her stay with the village. 

She had learned early on that for some reason, the villagers did not want the End freed. She hadn’t stayed in that world for very long at all. 

James opened the door to the building and held it open for Skylar. She thanked him, looking into the room and James started climbing the ladder in front of them. She followed, smiling as ‘Haggstrom’ started playing softly in the background. 

She was started as an older, raspy, voice started talking, “Mr. Goodman, is something wrong?” James looked up at the man, “Sorry for disturbing you Mr. Taylor, but we found another builder looking for a place to live.” He stepped aside, revealing Skylar to the room. 

The man’s eyes widened, “my, my. It does seem so now doesn’t it!” Skylar smiled, “Hello. My name is Skylar Sherlie, a creative builder. I'm looking for a place to settle down at and I humbly ask that you let me stay in your village as I do so.” The man eyed Skylar for a little while, “how old are you, Skylar?” Skylar smiled, “19, sir.” 

The man laughed, “quite impressive you’re out here on your own like this at such an age.” Skylar nodded, “thank you. I haven’t had much a choice.” The man nodded, still staring the girl down, “Skylar, you seem like a smart girl, I wish you as much good luck as I could in living here. I’m sure that we can arrange a suitable place for you to stay in our village as you go about your life.” 

Skylar smiled, “Thank you, very much. If it would be easier, you can direct me to a spot near the rest of the homes and I can make my own house, big enough to hold all the supplies I will be needing to store.” Mr. Taylor nodded, “I suppose that would work best for both of us now, wouldn’t it.” He directed his attention towards James, “Mr. Goodman, would you be so kind as to direct Miss Sherlie to a place near the gardens and the caves? There is plenty of space there that I believe would be best for our new friend!” James smiled, “of course sir. Thank you.” 

Mr. Taylor chuckled, “no, thank you both. And Skylar,” Skylar turned around, “Welcome to our village, we are very happy you’re here.” Skylar nodded, “thank you, I wish the best for you. Good day.” She climbed down the ladder, James following. 

Once they were outside of the building, James turned to Skylar. “I’ll show ya where you can build your house, over this way.” Skylar smiled, “thanks.” They walked for awhile until James stopped and pointed to a patch of land, “there it is!” Skylar nodded, “thank you James.” James smiled, “sure thing! Oh, and I was going to tell you, there’s a lot of mobs that come around here. That’s probably a good thing, considering you might want their loot, but just be careful.” 

Skylar nodded, “thank you, I’ll be on the lookout.” James smiled, “cool, I’m just over in that house over there if you need anything!” Skylar smiled and waved at him as he walked away. She turned to face the land that was now hers she sighed. That had been by far the easiest conversation she had had, trying to stay in a village. Laughing, she took off towards the nearby forest to get wood. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


	2. Behind the Screen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so I wanted to explain some things in this chapter:
> 
> I'm basing the lore for this Minecraft story off of Game Theory's theory on Enderman and how they were previous so called 'master builders' that lived in the world but get stuck in the end and turned into enderman. If you haven't watched that episode then I highly recommend waching it before reading the rest of this book because it'll all make so much more sense if you do.
> 
> Game Theory: The LOST History of Minecraft's Enderman  
> https://youtu.be/Ej3JRBbOcmM

Skylar collapsed on the ground, leaning her back against a cobblestone block that was part of her floor. Right next to the village she was staying in was a huge dark oak tree forest, which she had decided to use for her house since it was most convenient. Sure, dark oak wasn’t her favorite and her house stood out like a sore thumb, but it worked for what she needed it for. 

She had only laid down her cobblestone floors so far, but she was honestly surprised she had made it that far considering how dark it was when she had finished talking to Mr. Taylor. 

She heard the bell ring from the center of the village. She let out a laugh; the bell was supposed to be used for when there was a threat, but most of the time they would use it to signify it was time for everyone to go to bed so they could skip to dawn. She looked around, surprised that she hadn’t seen any mobs yet considering James’s warning. 

Skylar sighed, hopping off the floor and onto her future home’s floor where she placed the white bed that James had brought over to her a little while ago seeing as she had forgot to make one. She rested her head on the pillow as she drifted off to sleep, waking up nice and refreshed not even 10 second later. She loved that aspect of this little world. 

She jumped out of bed and ran off the cobblestone platform and towards the forest again to collect more wood. She had only gotten 10 pieces in her inventory when she heard a pop from behind her. She whirled around, switching to the stone sword she had made the night before as she looked around her. “hello?” She called. If it had been a villager, then it would respond. 

She waited, but to no avail. Slowly turning back around to mine the tree again, her attention was again stolen as the same popping noise was made to the left of her. She raised her sword and spun to her side, looking around her again. 

The sound was quite familiar, it wasn’t like she hadn’t killed an Enderman before. She decided to postpone getting wood for a moment and search for the mob, she needed to kill as many of them as she could anyways. 

“where are you...” She whispered underneath her breath as she walked around the wooded area. She heard what sounded like a twig breaking behind her turned around as fast as she could, only quick enough to see the purple stars floating to the ground. A grin spread across her face; it was an Enderman. 

She started to walk towards where the mob had been standing when a sound came from behind her. It sounded like someone trying to clear their throat, but she knew better. She turned around to find herself facing a tall, dark, purple eyed Enderman. 

She was careful not to look it in the eyes as she started approaching it, sword swaying at her side as she did so. She always hated killing Enderman, they were her favorite mob; but she needed to. She needed pearls. She gripped her sword handle even tighter as she raised it behind her, she decided to go for the legs first. She let the sword fall towards the Earth as she hit the creature. It yet out another yelp and teleported away. 

Skylar looked over to where it had gone, taking a better fighting stance as she expected it to teleport back to her and attempt to kill her as well. She sat there for a few seconds before looking up again. The creature was still standing where it had been, staring back at her. She squinted in confusion, looking into its eyes to see if that would make it angrier. It continued staring back at her. 

She moved her right foot next to her left as she lowered her sword, still staring back at the mob. She jumped a little as it suddenly teleported away out of sight. She stood there, horribly confused, for a few seconds before grabbing her axe and starting to break more trees again. 

Skylar always hated having to go back and mine for wood and cobblestone. She preferred mining way more than she needed in the beginning and not have to do it again. This being, she stopped mining after she had almost 2 stacks of 64 dark oak wood. She found her way out of the forest and back to her half-built house and started to build her masterpiece. 

She’d had to make several houses before so she was able to finish the exterior of this one rather quickly, leaving her time to finish the interior that day as well. 

She rearranged her bed and reset her spawn point, finishing off the main parts of the room by placing down a few torches that the villagers had given to her, making a few windows, a roof balcony, placing chests down, a crafting table, and two furnaces. 

She sighed, looking around at what she had done as she placed down the two doors at the front of her home. She emptied her inventory into the chests and organized what she decided to keep on her. 

Peeking out one of her windows, she noticed the sun was starting to go down again. She looked at her inventory, switching to hold her sword. She thought of the Enderman earlier that day. Maybe there was a glitch? She didn’t know. 

She tightened her grip in the sword again, she needed to fight mobs tonight. 

Running over to her chest, she placed a few pieces of meat in her furnace as waited for them to finish cooking. Once they were finished, she placed them in her inventory and headed for the door. The cool air made her shiver as it ran over her, it felt nice. 

She looked over at the forest. Now, even darker than it was that morning. She sighed as she started running toward it, sword still clenched in her fist. She ducked under some leaves as she stared out into the dense forestry, trying to find anything that she could kill. It didn’t take long before she heard hissing from some spiders. 

She smiled; she would need spider eyes eventually if she wanted to make potions at all, it worked out quite nicely. She looked around, trying to find where the sound had come from, jumping as the bell started ringing from the village. She felt bad for staying awake, but she was trying to free their world after all. 

She hopped over a grass block, a glimpse of red shining through the leaves as a spider climbed over the tree branches and started coming towards her. She raised her sword and started sprinting towards the mob, meeting it head on as she hit it with as much force as she could. It flung back, coming for a second attack and she repeated the process, defeating the creature as it sunk into the ground and left behind glowing beads of experience as some string. 

Skylar nodded, she could use the string later to make a bow. Something that she would need for the fight with the ender dragon. She looked up again as she heard a sound, she recognized it as a sheep dying. She searched the area to see where it had come from, walking over to where the floating block of wood and raw mutton was. 

Standing next to the items was a wolf. Skylar smiled as she extended her arm and pat the dog on the head. If only she had a bone. She looked around trying to find a skeleton. She squinted into the trees, thinking she saw one. 

Sprinting, she chose to encounter the mob. Killing it after a few hits of her sword. She leaned over, picking up the bone it had dropped as she ran back over to where the wolf had been. She handed the animal the bone as it played with it. Eventually running over to her and jumping up. Skylar laughed, stroking the wolf’s nose as she gave it a hug. “hello there boy!” 

The wolf seemed to smile back at her, “guess we should give you a name, huh.” He wagged his tail, still looking up at the girl, “what about Hunter?” The wolf placed his paws back on the ground as he sat there, staring at her. Skylar laughed, “you like that?” She smiled, “well then. You wait here for me won’t you? I want to train you a little first before one of these mobs kills you, ok?” The wolf sat there, panting, “that’s right. I’ll be right back Hunter, don’t move.” 

She placed the only torch she had brought with her next to her new friend before heading out into the dark forest again. She decided the best method would be to run until she got too close to something and it decided to attack. She was getting a lot of materials that she would need later and was quite pleased with how the method was working. 

She was about to head back home when she heard the same popping noise she had heard earlier that morning. She turned around to see what she was assuming to be the same Enderman. It was holding a grass block and was staring down at Skylar, remaining silent. 

Skylar decided to take her chances and looked up at the mob, directly into its eyes. It stared back down at her, not showing any sign of aggression. She breathed out as quietly and slowly as she could, slowly loosening the grip on her sword. Something wasn’t right about this specific Enderman. 

She checked her inventory, she had killed other Enderman that night, ones that she had accidently looked into the eyes of and been forced to kill for her own protection. She now had 5 ender pearls. She’d still need more, but a lot of her didn’t want to kill this one yet. It was acting awfully strange. 

She turned away from it and started making her way to the torch to pick up Hunter before heading home when the Enderman made a noise. Skylar stopped and turned around. She didn’t know that the Enderman could make noises. 

The creature continues making its cough-like sounds for a few seconds until teleporting. Skylar stared at the purple stars floating to the ground again. She was beyond confused, since when did Enderman act like that. She shrugged, sighing, as she turned around and started walking back to where Hunter was. 

She told the wolf to stand and the two started walking back to her house. Skylar, still a little paranoid, must’ve been turning around every thirty seconds to make sure the Enderman wasn’t following. She sighed as they approached her new house. 

Opening the door, Hunter ran in, immediately going to sit on her head. Skylar laughed, “you like that huh?” The wolf curled up, resting his head on Skylar’s pillow. 

Skylar didn’t mind, she opened the chest that was sitting by her door, placing all her new materials inside as she pulled some of the meat out to cook before heading to bed and skipping the rest of the night. 

Just as she was taking the last few pieces of mutton out of the furnace, Hunter sprang from the bed, barking. Skylar jumped up, quickly grabbing the sword from her inventory as she looked over and saw the same Enderman inside of her house. 

She glared at it, quickly sprinting towards the creature. She always hated it when mobs came in her house. Unique or not, she would always kill them. 

She struck the mob twice before it fell the floor, though, it wasn’t dead. She went to hit it one last time before it held its arm up, “stop” it almost pleaded, saying the word surprisingly calm. Skylar stepped back, staring at the mob with a confused look on her face. The Enderman looked up, “Skylar, right?” 

Skylar loosened her grip on her sword, trying to decide if this was all real or not. Hunter growled, eyes turning red as it started to dart for the creature. Skylar looked over at him, quickly running towards the animal and grabbing onto him before he reached the injured mob on the floor. 

The Enderman pushed himself farther into the corner, keeping a close eye on the builder and wolf in front of him. Skylar stroked Hunter’s head, “hey, stop it.” The wolf calmed down, still eyeing the Enderman very closely. 

Skylar turned her attention from her pet to the Enderman again. The mob looked back at her. “Skylar?” It asked. Skylar nodded her head, still staring wide eyed at the creature. The mob shook his head, slowly trying to sit up but evidently failing as his leg collapsed and he fell back against the wall again. 

Skylar looked over at the chest near her door, walking over to it slowly. She pulled out the string she had gotten that night and walked over to the Enderman. “Am I losing it?” She asked him. The Enderman stared back up at her, “i know. You’re not supposed to be able to understand me.” Skylar looked at the ground, “i had no idea you guys even made sounds, and why aren’t you hostile.” 

The Enderman looked and the floor in front of them, “that’s because we aren’t supposed to.” He looked up, “well I mean, we make sounds that are talking, but it’s almost unrecognizable.” Skylar looked up at the creature again, “I’ve never heard any of you make sounds before. Of any sort.” 

The Enderman shrugged, “I don’t know what to tell you. I don’t even know how you’re understanding me right now. I’ve tried talking to villagers before and all they ever do it run.” Skylar laughed, “you are an Enderman.” He laughed, “guess so.” 

Skylar unraveled the string, “want me to fix those cuts?” The Enderman looked up at her, waiting a few seconds, “they don’t hurt much. I should be fine.” Skylar frowned, “you couldn’t even stand.” “i don’t' need to stand right now do I.” He replied. Skylar sat back, “alright.” She turned to put the string away again, “why did you come here? And why aren’t you hostile?” 

The mob sighed, “being hostile is a choice. Enderman here exist as sacrifices for our kind. I believe there are other ways. Such as not being hostile, and helping the builder... or in this case, you.” Skylar closed the lid of the chest, “so you want to actually help me instead of just dying and giving me an ender pearl?” The mob nodded. 

Skylar sighed, “how do you plan on helping me?” The Enderman stared at the floor, “I’m from the End. I can help you find the portal.” Skylar quickly looked up at the Enderman, “you can do that?” The mob nodded. “then why don’t all Enderman just do it like that? It’s so much quicker and gets them home so much faster.” 

The Enderman looked down at his hands, “our ability to speak is so broken that not even villagers could understand us. If we can’t even talk, then what makes you think we explain that we wanted to help them free us? Not to mention that as soon as one Enderman acts hostile, they assume we are all that way, and flee from us.” Skylar frowned, “I guess that makes sense.” 

The Enderman sighed, “If you don’t want my help that’s fine. Kill me and use the pearl the find it. I’m only offering.” Skylar looked down at Hunter who was staring up at her, wagging his tail and panting. She smiled, “No, it’d help a lot.” The Enderman looked up at her, “So that’s a yes for help?” Skylar looked at him, “yes.” The mod nodded, “thank you.” Skylar smiled, “yeah.” 

She looked out the window, she could see the sun coming up from over the mountain, “looks like it’s morning. I’m going to start a mine today, see what I can find. I don’t know what you want to do.” The Enderman nodded, “I’ll come with.” Skylar nodded. She walked over to her chest, pulling out some of the gear she needed for mining. 

She watched out of the corner of her eye as the Enderman reached forward and pet Hunter. Hunter got excited and ran forward, licking the mob’s face. Skylar laughed, “got a friend there huh” The Enderman laughed, “looks like it heh.” 

Skylar swung a pickaxe around in circles as she turned to face the Enderman again, “so uh, you got a name or something?” The mob looked down, “I had one, yes.” Skylar laughed, “and it is...?” he looked up, “Jack Hampton.” Skylar nodded, “oh, nice to meet you Jack.” Jack nodded, “yeah.” 

Skylar, still stressed about one of her previous dogs that fell in lava while she was mining, tied Hunter up on a lead and took him over to James. He was out in his garden again. “Hey James!” She called out. The boy looked up, “Oh! Hey Skylar! How’s everything going?” Skylar giggled, “great, I have a favor to ask,” James sat up wiping his forehead, “what is it!” Skylar held out the lead which revealed Hunter behind her. 

James smiled, “hey, I like your dog! Looks a nice little wolf!” Skylar smiled, “yeah, he’s super nice. I’m going mining to find some stuff, could you maybe watch him? I could just tie him up right here, I just don’t want him escaping or teleporting to me.” 

James smiled, “oh for sure, I’d be glad to! Just be safe mining! Be sure your spawn point is set here, I don’t want to lose you yet!” Skylar laughed, “yeah, I have. Thank you!” She tied Hunter to the fence post and waved goodbye to James, making her way back to her house. 

Jack was now standing, leaning up against a wall. “It won’t take long to bandage you up, you know.” Jack laughed, “It’s ok. I’ll get over it. Thanks though.” Skylar smiled, “you ready then?” Jack nodded, “cool.” She opened the door and stepped out, walking around to the back of the house where Jack had teleported to as they started making their way to the cave just behind them. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeeeeessss so Jack has a formal first and last name cause he hasn't always been an enderman?? we'll seeeeeeee haha
> 
> thanks for reading, hope you're enjoying reading it as much as I am writing it!!


	3. More Than a Story

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello my friends!! I hope you're enjoying this so far!! Here's another chapter. It's pretty lore heavy... not kanon Minecraft lore, just the lore for this story. I needed to clear up some things, hopefully it all makes sense!! If you have any questions, feel free to comment them and I'll try and answer them!! Love y'all!!

The cave had proved to have many materials that Skylar needed. She had gotten a ton of iron ore; enough to make armor and maybe a pickaxe or sword. It was great- for a person like her at least. Jack was teleporting all over the cave system, seeming like he was able to locate anything he wanted and bring it back for her. 

He had brought her at least 12 diamonds, almost two stacks of coal, and had located a spawner all within 5 hours of being in the cave. Skylar could tell he was at least a little proud of himself, she thought it was funny. 

She broke the iron ore block in front of her, trying to remember everything she would need to find before going to the End. She wasn’t as concerned with how quickly she would be able to defeat the dragon. If she got there, prepared and determined, without the villagers finding out before hand, she was fine. 

She jumped as Jack teleported in front of her, “my bad.” He said, smiling. She breathed out heavily, “you have got to start announcing yourself better.” Jack laughed, “that’s no fun, is it.” Skylar glared up at the mob, “oh, it’s still plenty fun.” 

He smiled, “well anyways, I found a patch of obsidian. It should be enough that you could build a portal, if you’d like me to take you there.” Skylar nodded, perking up a bit, “yes please! Just let me make a diamond pickaxe really quick.” Jack watched as she rather quickly crafted the tool, somewhat sad as he did. 

Skylar turned around after breaking the table and torch, swinging the tool in her hand while smiling, “ready?” Jack grabbed her hand and they teleported away. Skylar landed on an obsidian block, she yelped as her foot slipped off the edge and she started to fall into the lava in front of her. Jack reached forward and grabbed her, pulling her towards him as quickly as he could. 

She pushed herself out of the Enderman’s arms as soon as she regained her balance, laughing. “haha, uh, sorry” Jack smiled, letting go of her arms, “you ok?” She laughed, blushing from embarrassment. She was very clumsy, something that didn’t help with trying to complete her tasks. “yeah, I’m ok. Thanks” Jack nodded, “yeah.” He pointed around them, “here it is.” 

Skylar looked around, walking to the blocks next to the cobblestone on the far right as she mined inwards. A few minutes later, she climbed out of the hole where the obsidian had been, looking around to find Jack. She couldn’t see him. 

“Jack?” She called out, down the long dark cave tunnels. There was no response; He must’ve left to go find something else. Skylar looked around the area she was in for more materials, she spotted an emerald ore block on the bottom of one of the walls. She ran over to mine it, maybe she could trade it with someone in the village. 

She heard steps coming down the cave, turning to look in the direction, she squinted into the darkness. Eventually, two purple eyes came into focus, she stood up, “jack?” The mob walked farther into the light, “sorry.” Skylar shook her head, “everything ok?” 

The Enderman nodded, looking down as he handed Skylar a diamond sword. Skylar’s eyes widened as she looked up at the mob, “where did you find this?” Jack looked away, starting to walk away from the section they were in, “I know you have enough to make one. Take that and use the other diamonds for something else.” 

Skylar stared at the sword in confusion, “but I thought you said you couldn’t cra-” “I know. Just take it.” He continued walking, “the exit is out this way I believe.” Skylar looked up at Jack, “You ready to go back?” Jack stared forward, “yes please.” 

Skylar nodded as she started following in the direction Jack was going. She didn’t know why he didn’t just teleport them out of the cave, but she continued following on foot anyways. 

“We’re pretty far into the cave, just so you know.” He remarked after a few minutes of walking in the dark. Skylar nodded her head, not that they could see anything, “Why don’t you just teleport?” Jack stopped, “I guess I can do that.” Skylar laughed, “yeah.” 

She walked up next to Jack, “Are you sure you want to go back? I’d hate for you to miss out of materials because of me.” Skylar looked at him, confused, “We need to stick together.” 

The Enderman nodded as a song started playing faintly in the background again. He grabbed Skylar’s hand, teleporting them to just outside the cave’s opening. 

Skylar let go of Jack’s hand, laughing, “I still hate that feeling” She looked up at Jack, who was standing almost in the cave, looking down it. “hey, are you ok?” She asked, running up to him. 

Jack looked up at her, “yes.” Skylar frowned, “Something’s bothering you.” Jack laughed, “oh really.” Skylar looked around, “you know this cave well or something? You seemed to know where you’re going...” Jack looked down the cave tunnel, “yeah, I do. Didn’t realize it at first.” Skylar raised an eyebrow, “you just hangout in here a lot or something?” 

Jack turned to face Skylar, “do you know anything about where you came from?” Skylar frowned, “yes.” He stared at the girl, “how did you get here alone then? Skylar looked at the ground, “the world I was born into was destroyed. I don’t remember anything other than my parents telling me about some guy in my village that went mad and summoned a whither. They had no idea where it had gone and for years it stayed that way. Until it found us.” 

She looked up at Jack, “It destroyed everything we had. My parents were very invested in freeing the End. They taught me all about it. All about the dragon and the Enderman and how we needed to free you guys from the dragon.” 

Jack continued looking down at the girl, “You left that world then?” Skylar sighed, “my parents made it to the End. I never saw them again after they went through that portal.” She looked up at the sky, “I woke up one day and I was in a completely new world. I’ve lived in 9 worlds so far, including this one.” 

Jack looked back up, “how do you leave worlds?” Skylar laughed, “there’s one death that’s not quite like the others. When you die in the End, you ‘fall out of the world’. It’s impossible to respawn, you’d have to teleport using the portal that appears only after the dragon is defeated. I die in the End, I have to restart.” Jack stared at the girl again, “bizarre.” She laughed, “I know right.” 

The sun had almost gone down but now, the stars were starting to show. She looked at Jack, “what about you.” The Enderman looked at the grass, “you wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” Skylar raised an eyebrow, “Try me.” Jack rolled his eyes, starting to walk back to Skylar’s house. 

Skylar jumped to her feet, “hey! Where are you going.” Jack stopped and turned around, “you want to know where I come from?” Skylar looked at the Enderman for a second, “y-yeah.” Jack nodded his head, extending his arm, “Then come here.” 

Skylar walked forward and grabbed his hand, immediately teleporting away from the spot. 

She lunged forward into a bush, trying to stand up as the purple stars floated around them. She turned to look at Jack, noticing that they were in some sort of Jungle. She thought she recognized it from around where she had spawned into the world, it was a visible biome next to the plains. 

“why are we here.” She asked, sounding more demanding than she intended. Jack looked around the area, ignoring Skylar’s question for a little while. 

He sighed as he found the structure of mossy cobblestone he had come looking for, turning to face Skylar. “this world has been my world for my entire life.” He took a deep breath, “but I’m not exactly what you think I am.” Skylar raised an eyebrow as she started walking towards him, “what are you talking about?” 

Jack started walking towards the pillars of mossy cobblestone that he had located. “What am I?” Skylar ran after him, “an Enderman?” Jack stopped as he approached the place, moving a vine to the side to reveal the structure, “wrong.” 

Skylar looked at the building, mesmerized. Jack beckoned for her to walk through the vines, “what is this place?” Jack walked in after her, making his way to the front of the temple, “a temple.” Skylar turned to face Jack, “did you build this?” Jack laughed, “No.” Skylar looked back at the building, “but my people did.” He added. Skylar quickly looked back up at him, a confused look on her face. 

“go in.” He told her. Skylar looked at the block that stood in front of her, switching to her stone pickaxe, she broke the block, stepping into the room. It wasn’t big, but the designs were very advanced and detailed. She turned to Jack, “your people?” Jack nodded. “what people?” she questioned. 

Jack looked around the room, touching the wall. “Enderman aren’t a natural mob Skylar. We weren’t just created as Enderman.” Skylar looked at Jack, closely paying attention. Jack sighed, looking back at her, “I know you’re not a villager. You’re a master builder.” Skylar’s eyes widened, “how di-” Jack laughed, “I uh, I am too.” 

Skylar put her pickaxe down, slowly sitting down on the floor, “w-what..?” Jack looked around once more before sitting down, “I was born a builder, like you. The End existed, but that was the extent of it. There were no Enderman, there was no Dragon, there was no End city, or any of it. There were people here, all over the world. We were called master builders, and then there were villagers.” 

Skylar looked at the floor, she noticed her hands were shaking a little bit. “What happened?” she asked, rather timidly. 

Jack looked at the floor, “Villagers had their proper establishments, with iron golems, which I might add we helped them make, but we didn’t. We lived each family for themselves for the most part, it worked best that way. Villagers feared mobs with every bone inside of them, they would rather die than fight. As zombies started coming to more and more villages, the iron golems couldn’t keep up with all the individual beings there. Entire villages were turning into zombies so fast, and no one knew how to stop it. We were “master builders” but because of how many people were living in one world, there was a lack of resources. No one had anything to fight back. They tried escaping in the Nether, but the people that went to check it all out first came back after about a day reporting that it was not a good environment. Something that you probably understand.” Skylar laughed. 

“anyways. They came back and decided that we needed to try somewhere else. The zombies just got worse and worse, until there were more people than zombies. Long story short, they decided to build underground fortresses to hide from the mobs, where they then figured out how to make some sort of portal to a “better” world. We went there, soon realizing that there was no way out.” 

Skylar looked up at Jack, “so how did you become an Enderman then?” She felt bad asking so many questions about his life, but she never understood what there was to free the End from or why the dragon cared about keepig the Enderman there. 

Jack looked up, meeting her eyes, “Evolved, basically.” Chorus fruit was all that we had, after eating it for so long, we gained teleportation abilities, growing taller to be able to reach the food from the trees.” Skylar frowned, “doesn’t that sort of evolution take centuries?” Jack laughed, “heh, yeah. Thankfully for us, time doesn’t exist in the End. Only reason I’ve aged since age 3 when I was taken into the End is because I’ve been living on the surface for 17 years.” 

Skylar went quiet, “So how did you get out of the End then.” Jack leaned his back against the wall, “You remember the dragon?” Skylar nodded, “The dragon wasn’t there when we got there. The dragon is one of us. She was our leader basically.” 

He sighed, “It’s never been something that you’ve had to worry about, but the portal back to our world- the portal the dragon defends for this reason- will collapse if it is used by too many things. Our leader was filled with anger. She had no compassion for us whatsoever. She does not care for our lives yet will kill us if we don’t care for hers. She defends the portal to ensure it doesn’t collapse. She is too powerful to use it herself. If any of us showed any sort of disobedience or hatred towards her, she would select a few of us to send to this world. She believes it to be some sort of punishment. Exile, to the world infested with zombies above. Little does she know that most of them are all gone now... and that I’m here trying to help someone- you- kill her.” 

Skylar smiled at the Enderman, “so you were disobedient then?” Jack laughed, “I prefer to call it independent. Wouldn’t let anyone push me around I guess.” Skylar laughed, “I guess it’s good that you were.” 

Jack smiled, “yeah. Sorry, that was boring and long, I felt you needed to know why you were doing this.” Skylar smiled, “no, thank you for telling me. I want to help.” 

Jack nodded, “it’s night.” Skylar yawned, “yeah haha, ready to go back?” Jack nodded, standing up and grabbing Skylar's hand as they quickly appeared back at Skylar’s home. 

Jack squeezed Skylar’s hand, pulling her to look at him, “I’ll see you tomorrow morning. Good night.” He let go of her hand, teleporting away before Skylar could respond. She smiled. 

She had never been friends with a mob. There had been some villagers that she had been close to, and some wolves, but she had never tried to be super close to anyone considering she could die in the End and never see them again. No chance to say goodbye. Her parent’s disappearances had messed with her enough. Which was what scared her about letting Jack help her. 

He needed to be freed, but if she died, that wouldn’t be possible. Not to mention she’d end up in a different world and never get to see him again. 

She sighed; friends weren’t bad. She just needed to not get too dependent on others. Specifically, Jack. 

She considered picking up Hunter, but decided that it was late, and she’d be asking to drop him off again tomorrow morning anyways. 

She emptied her inventory into the chest by her door, crafting another two chests as it started to become full. 

She climbed into bed as the sun immediately came up after she closed her eyes, feeling as refreshed and filled with energy as she could be. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


	4. the Nether

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again, I have nothing else to do but write so Merry late Christmas haha
> 
> I hope you enjoy!! :D  
> (again: I think this is much more enjoyable to read if you have Minecraft music going in the background!! Here's a link if you are interested!!)  
> https://youtu.be/Dg0IjOzopYU

Skylar stretched her arms out in front of her as the sun poured from the window across the room onto her face. Sitting up, she stared down at her feet. Everything had reason now, she understood why she needed to do what she did. But one thing wasn’t resting too well with her. 

If the dragon was their so called leader, why was she sending Enderman out to the real world without trying to get them to find help? There was always a way out of anything in Minecraft, so why wasn’t she trying to find it? It would require her to die, and sure Jack had said she didn’t care for them a whole ton, but she had taken them to the End, she had to know there was a way out. 

Skylar shook her head, she was probably overthinking things as she did all the time. She stood up, walking over to her chest as she pulled out the diamond sword that Jack had given her, some food, and some more pickaxes. 

She decided that she needed to go to the Nether, all she needed was some flint to make flint and steel, then she should be set. Opening the door, she looked around. No sign of Jack anywhere, she sighed. 

She didn’t know where he had teleported off to the night before but didn’t want to bother him if he wasn’t ready. She’d be back after she found some gravel patches to change into her armor and build a portal anyways. 

She turned around, looking for the cave she and Jack had gone to the day before, stopping as she saw James in his garden again. He looked up and waved. Skylar smiled, deciding to walk over and say hi. 

“Hey James!” She greeted happily. James laughed, “Hey Skylar! How’s your morning?” Skylar smiled, “Pretty darn good, you?” James smiled, watching as Skylar reached over and pet Hunter, “Pretty good as well!” 

He laughed, “I think Hunter’s been missing you, I took him on a walk yesterday, kept wanting to go to the cave you were at.” Skylar laughed, “oh really? That's funny!” James sighed, “yeah, did you find a lot of stuff yesterday then?” Skylar smiled, standing up again, “yeah we did! We got a ton of iron and obsidian; I want to try going to the Nether today...” 

James looked at her, confused, “we?” Skylar blushed, “sorry, I” James laughed, “nah, I’m kidding. That’s awesome! Be safe in the Nether though, it’s a strange dimension haha” Skylar laughed, “yeah, thank you! Hopefully I’ll be back in time to pick up Hunter tonight, sorry for just leaving him with you...” 

James smiled, “no don’t worry about it!” He walked over to the basket in the corner of his garden, pulling out some seeds. Skylar looked around, still no Jack. She had been talking with James for a while anyways, he’d probably come while she was gone. She sighed, deciding to just stay here until he came. “so what have you been up to?” 

James looked up, “oh not much, I’m helping a few other villagers plan a birthday thing for Mr. Taylor... That’s been fun!” 

Skylar smiled, “oh! I didn’t know it was his birthday! How old is he turning?” James laughed, “63!” Skylar nodded, “wow! That's awesome! When is it?” James looked up, thinking, “A week from tomorrow I believe!” Skylar smiled, “ok cool! I’ll try and remember that.” She looked at James, suddenly remembering something she’d been wanting to ask, “wait, how old are you? I don’t think you’ve ever told me.” James smiled, “oh yeah haha, 19. Like you.” Skylar nodded, “oh, cool!” She looked around, noticing that what she assumed was Jack, was now standing by a tree staring back at her, “well sorry I've kept you for so long. It was nice talking with you!” 

James smiled at her, “oh yeah, actually, I forgot I was going to ask you real quick... would you maybe want to help me with the party a little? I’m in charge of making a little stage thing but you’re so much better at building, I was wondering if you’d be willing to help me out?” Skylar smiled, “oh, yeah! Of course! When would you like me to help?” 

James smiled, “thank you! Would maybe like tomorrow night work?” Skylar nodded, “yeah, sounds great!” She knew that she would hopefully be gone by next week, but she couldn’t tell anyone about it. 

James smiled, “Cool, I’ll uh see you tomorrow then!” Skylar smiled in return, “see ya!” 

She turned and quickly walked away, looking at the ground. She didn’t mind helping James, she looked forward to being able to build again. She looked up at Jack, sighing. He started walking towards the forest again. She followed, eventually catching up once the trees hid them. 

“hey, sorry about that.” She apologized. Jack shook his head, “no worries, sorry I was so late.” She shook her head, “don’t worry about it.” 

Jack looked down at the girl, “what are you going to do today?” Skylar smiled, “ever been to the Nether?” Jack shook his head, “You’re going?” Skylar nodded, “I have to make an Eye of Ender somehow.” Jack laughed, “fair.” 

Skylar looked over at the caves again, “I need to go find some gravel, I think I remember seeing a patch of it at the mouth of that cave.” Jack looked over at the caves as well, nodding, “let’s go.” Skylar grabbed the Enderman’s hand, reappearing at the mouth of the cave again. 

Skylar walked forward, looking down the walls of the cave as she saw the patch, she remembered seeing the day before. “Right here” She told Jack before running off down the tunnel. It only took her about 5 broken blocks before she had enough flint to make the flint and steel. 

Jack helped her teleport back to her house, this time landing inside the building in an effort to not be seen with Skylar by any villagers. He didn’t want to cause more trouble than he already was in her life. 

He looked out the window cautiously, there wasn’t anyone outside other than James- but he was too busy working on his garden to notice anything. He turned around to face Skylar. She was hunched over her crafting table and chest, going between the two as she made armor. 

After a few minutes, she had a full suit of iron armor. Picking up her diamond sword from Jack and a shield, she turned to face Jack, smiling. “Ready?” 

He nodded, smiling, “Yeah” Skylar shook her head as she walked over to her door, opening it and peeking her head out to make sure no one was around. There wasn’t a soul in sight. She turned around, “Ok. I’m going to make the portal; you stay here and I’ll come get you when it’s done.” Jack nodded and Skylar ran out. 

Skylar sprinted over the back of her house. She decided that it would work just fine to build the portal there instead of someplace far. It didn’t take her long to make the portal itself, and it worked just fine. 

She stepped back, taking a good look at what she had created. She didn’t hate the Nether, but she didn’t love it either. It was so hot, not to mention the crazy amount of mobs that lived there. She sighed, it had been a while since she’d fought a blaze. She was excited, but at the same time, nervous she’d die in front of Jack. She knew she could do it and didn’t want to make herself look like a fool. 

“Why do I care what Jack thinks about my fighting?” She mumbled aloud to herself as she walked around to get the Enderman, she stopped at the door as she noticed the butterflies in her stomach. She stared at the door, “jeez, calm down.” She whispered again, opening the door. 

Jack was looking out the window down where Skylar had been working, turning around right as she opened the door, “It’s finished. You ready?” Jack smiled, “Yeah!” Skylar smiled, feeling her stomach erupt into butterflies again for some reason she still was unaware of. 

Jack followed Skylar out the door as they quickly ran to the back of the house again. Jack looked up at the portal, mesmerized as the warm air around it blended perfectly with the purple foggy swirls in the black frame of obsidian. “I forgot how beautiful these portals were.” Skylar looked up at the portal too, “I love them.” 

Jack looked down at Skylar, “I assume I’m coming with?” Skylar laughed, rather nervously, “If you want then I’d love your help!” Jack smiled, “of course.” Skylar smiled, walking into the portal as the world around her turned into a bunch of wavy images, eventually being replaced with a harsh, red, and hot environment. 

She walked the rest of the way out of the portal, grabbing onto Jack’s hand and pulling him towards her as she noticed him trying to figure out where she was through the swirls. She laughed, “I hate exiting portals” Jack laughed, “Yeah” She looked around, feeling Jack’s hand tighten around hers as she tried to let go to explore. 

She smiled, turning back around, “You ok?” Jack looked down at her, “oh, sorry” He let go of her hand, quickly looking away. Skylar turned back around, smiling as the butterflies came back again. She walked over to a cliff that was by where they had spawned. 

Peeking her head over a block to get a better view, she sighed. They were on the top of a netherrack mountain, overlooking an ocean of lava, filled with Ghasts and Pigmen galore. 

“Great.” She laughed, “Just what we need. Ghasts.” Jack laughed, looking over to his right. He smiled, nudging Skylar’s shoulder, “Hey look,” He pointed in the direction he had been looking, “the Nether fortress.” Skylar smiled, “ah, YES!” She laughed, jumping up. 

“that’s way lucky. Shouldn’t take too long to get blaze powder now!” Jack smiled, “that’s convenient...” 

Skylar laughed, “Can you teleport down here?” Jack nodded, “for sure.” He grabbed her hand again, thinking about the fortress he had seen, teleporting there in an instant. 

Skylar caught herself on a Nether Brick wall as she hit the ground, lunging forwards again. “Alright” She said, pushing herself away from the wall, “we need to find Blaze’s. I’m assuming you know what those look like?” Jack nodded. “Cool. I need as many as possible, just to be safe.” 

Jack turned around, he hadn’t ever been in the Nether, but he already could tell he hated it. He had no idea how Skylar could be wearing that much armor and not be sweating to death. He looked around the hallways, trying to remember more fully what a Blaze looked like. 

He was pretty sure he could muster some strength to fight other mobs, but if he was being completely honest, he didn’t know for sure. “Hey Sky?” Skylar turned around, giving him her attention. 

“Sorry, Skylar, uh- I don’t know if I can fight other mobs.” Skylar smiled, “No it’s alright, I like Sky... and don’t worry, I'll come with you. If other mobs attack you, then I’m pretty sure you can hit them too, but I’m not so sure either.” Jack smiled, going a little flustered, “Oh, alright.” 

Skylar smiled, walking forward as she took the lead. She rounded her first corner rather quickly, running down the hall like she was certain she was the strongest thing in this dimension. Which, she probably was. 

There was a few Blaze’s at the end of the hall, all of which died only moments after Skylar arrived with her diamond sword. Two of them dropped blaze powder. Skylar scooped up the substance, placing it carefully in her inventory before running down another hall doing the same. 

Jack hadn’t realized how good of a fighter Skylar was. He knew she was pretty good, she had almost killed him, but not this good. He enjoyed watching all the fights. She rarely took any hits and when she did, it only made her more determined to win, leaving the Blaze no shot at winning. She looked incredibly happy while doing it too. 

After what felt like only a few minutes, but was really 3 hours, of hunting Blazes around the fortress, Skylar had collected 32 blaze powder. Way more than what she needed, but she figured she could use them in potions if she wanted, after beating the dragon. 

Skylar sighed, running up to Jack as she noticed how rather aggressively, she was breathing, “Alright uh... you good to go back then?” Jack smiled, “yeah, you alright?” Skylar laughed, looking up at the Enderman, “yeah! Just super tired, it’s really hot down here.” Jack laughed, “yeah, it is” 

He reached out his hand, Skylar grabbed it. They teleported back to the portal, the two of them hopping in as quickly as possible. 

Skylar opened her eyes, stepping out of the portal as her foot immediately sunk into the sand that was in front of her. She looked around; they were on a beach. Jack walked up next to her, he sighed, “well” Skylar laughed, looking over the water of the Ocean at the sun, barely visible above the horizon. “We’re probably pretty far from my house... coming back from the Nether sucks.” Jack laughed, “apparently.” 

Skylar couldn’t take her eyes off the sunset, it was always very pretty, but tonight it seemed to scream at her with it’s intense reds and pinks that drastically faded to dark blue in the night sky, stars starting to become more visible. 

Jack noticed Skylar looking at the sky, decided to direct his attention there as well to see what was so great about it. He wasn’t disappointed. 

“Sorry, I don’t know why I love sunsets so much.” She remarked. Jack laughed, “No, I love them too. Haven’t seen one this pretty in a while.” She smiled, “We can go back, might need to teleport though. I have no idea where we are.” Jack smiled looking down at the girl as he grabbed her hand, “alright.” 

In the blink of an eye, Skylar was being thrown forward through the forest just like every time they teleported. She laughed as she pushed herself into a sitting position on the grass. Jack rushed over, “are you ok?” Skylar continued laughing, “y-yeah I’m ok!” 

Jack reached over, offering his hand. Skylar took it, blushing again from embarrassment over how she couldn’t manage to stay on her feet- Jack must’ve noticed. 

He pulled her to her feet, “Sorry about that, I should be better at not letting go so soon!” Skylar looked up, “No no, it’s not you haha. I’m just overly clumbsy” Jack smiled, “That’s ok, it’s cute.” 

Skylar felt her face go red as she somehow started to feel warmer than she had in the Nether. Jack’s eyes grew in realization to what he had just said, “I-I didn’t mean it like that I-” 

Skylar looked up, waving her hand, “No no it’s cool I get what you meant...” Jack coughed, “I’m sorry I uh, I should probably go, I’m pretty tired, I’m sure you are too-” Skylar nodded, “Yeah, uh... See you tomorrow? I guess?” Jack nodded, “Yeah uh- see you!” 

Skylar smiled, turning around as she started walking over to untie Hunter from James’s fence. Her insides felt like jelly, but not in a bad way necessarily. She stopped herself. “Don’t be crazy. He’s an Enderman. You're a builder. He even said he didn’t mean it like that” She whispered to herself. 

She walked up to Hunter, petting his head and giving him a hug as he jumped up on her, sticking his tongue out and wagging his tail like she was a living wolf treat. “Hey buddy, missed you! Sorry I've been gone so much lately, maybe I’ll take you out with my tomorrow huh?” The wolf barked, licking her face. She giggled, starting to walk back to her house. 

She rolled her eyes as Hunter ran past her, going straight to the door and staring at it like it would open for him. She looked over to the forest she had just come from, Jack was gone. 

She sighed, thinking again. Her greatest weakness. 

Sure, Jack was an Enderman now, but he had explained it all to her. He was really a builder just like her. And if she calculated it out right, he was around the same age as well. She shook her head; she was reading into thing too much again. And she hated that the thought of him actually liking her made her smile. Sometimes, she couldn’t live with herself. 

She opened the door, letting Hunter run in before shutting it behind her. She opened the chest next to her, placing all her armor and materials in it before walking over and falling on her bed. 

She didn’t know how she could afford to lose this world; She needed to beat the dragon this time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes there's a lil romance, idk why I love writing romance so you guys get to have some in this literally a horrible platform for romance 
> 
> i'm sorry I couldn't help it :')


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow this is kinda strange I'm sorry. This going a lot quicker than I thought... so if you can't tell, I'm dragging things out a little more eheh, nOt ExAcTlY thE BesT WriTeR sO SoRRy bOUt ThaT
> 
> hope you're still enjoying it!! love you guysss :D

The sun suddenly rose again, it’s beams shooting into Skylar’s eyes as she groaned. She glared at her window like doing such a thing would change the Sun’s mind about coming up that day. 

She rolled over, pushing herself to stand up as she rubbed her eyes. She stumbled over to the chest across the room, opening it as she squinted inside. She grabbed a bunch of random things, not exactly knowing what she wanted to do that day still. 

She knew she’d probably end up mining more, but she didn’t necessarily need to. The main thing she needed to do was get ender pearls, but that would require killing enderman; Something that after Jack’s story, she wasn’t so thrilled about anymore. 

She sighed, she knew there was no other way, but she still didn’t want to murder Jack’s literal friends in front of him. 

She closed the chest, heading for her door as she called for Hunter to follow her. He needed to get out, and mob grinding would be easier with a wolf anyways. The wolf happily did so, running out the door and taking off towards the woods. Skylar gasped, “Hunter! Come back here!” 

The wolf continued. She groaned, putting her sword into her inventory and grabbing some food before taking off after the wolf. She smiled, realizing he had just gone straight to Jack and was now jumping up on him as Jack pet him. 

“Sorry about that-” She pulled out a lead and attached it to Hunter’s collar. Jack laughed, "No worries.” 

She laughed, “So uh, how’s it going?” Jack smiled, “Fine... you?” She smiled, “good.... I don’t really know what to do today if I’m being honest.” 

Jack shrugged, “we can just look around, take it easy... I don’t know” Skylar nodded, “that sounds nice.” Jack smiled, “Sounds like a plan... where do you want to start?” 

Skylar looked around, “I brought Hunter to maybe do some mob grinding. We could just roam the forest?” Jack nodded, “For sure.” He looked around, “You need Ender Pearls, don’t you?” Skylar looked up at Jack, “unfortunately.” 

Jack nodded, “it’s alright. We just need to look out for Enderman.” Skylar frowned, “yeah.” Jack turned to face her, “It’s really ok Skylar. I understand” Skylar laughed, “I know. I still don’t want to though.” Jack frowned, “I’m sorry.” He laughed, “You could just kill me” 

Skylar looked up at him, punching him in the arm, “You know I would never!!” Jack laughed, looking at her sarcastically angry face, “lucky me” Skylar smiled, “You bet. Now let's go before I need to be home.” She stopped herself from almost sprinting off, “Which reminds me, I need to be home before dark today. James asked me to help with a thing he’s building for the village leader’s birthday next week.” Jack nodded, “alright.” 

She sighed, sprinting off into the woods. 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

They had probably been out for around 5 hours before they decided to stop for the day. Skylar had collected enough string to make a bow, one of the main last components of what she wanted to take with her to the End. 

The two sat down on the beach at the opposite end of the forest in which they had started. Skylar held out her hand, “Ok, so I need to make a bow, get some arrows, probably some new armor, I’ll use the diamond sword you gave me, bring my diamond pick, I’ll cook all of the meat I have, and get around 7 stacks of dirt. After that, all I need is Ender pearls and to find the portal.” Jack nodded, “and I can take you to the portal, so you need 12 Eye of Ender’s, which means only 12 Enderman.” 

Skylar sighed, “If all 12 we try drop ender peals.” Jack laughed, “I’ve got a trick.” Skylar looked up, “Huh?” Jack smiled, “Ender pearls are weird, but every Enderman has one, some of them don’t just drop them, you have to take them out... their bodies fade quickly though so you need to act fast, I’ll help you if you need.” 

Skylar stared blankly at the Enderman, “Where is it?” Jack laughed, “it’s basically our heart.” Skylar nodded, “makes sense.” Jack smiled, “yeah. We can find them tomorrow if you’d like.” Skylar laughed, “sure! And that should be it...” Jack smiled, “nice! You did it quick, I'm impressed...” Skylar smiled, looking down, “Thanks.” 

Jack frowned, “hey, you ok?” Skylar looked up at the sky, it was slowly becoming more and more dark, she sighed, “Yeah just- I really, really, like this world. I don’t want to start over again. It’s the quickest I’ve gotten ready and I don’t want to die ya know?” She looked up at the Enderman, “I want to free you.” 

Jack smiled, “Don’t worry about us, we’ll be fine. And I'm sure you’ll do just fine Sky. Don’t stress-” Skylar laughed, “If I die, I can’t come back. I actually have a reason to win this time other than it’s my “destiny” and I just “need to.” I don’t want to lose this!!” She stepped back, looking down as tears fought their way to her eyes. 

Jack sighed, stepping forward as he grabbed her shoulders, “Skylar, I believe in you. Don’t let some stupid, oversized lizard get to you.” Skylar laughed, wiping away a tear that rolled down her cheek as she noticed the song that had started in the background. 

She looked up at Jack and smiled, “Thank you.” Jack smiled, “for sure, you got this.” Skylar nodded, looking up at Jack before pulling him in for a hug. 

Jack jumped back, eventually wrapping his arms around her as well. Skylar sniffed, stepping back, “I uh- I should probably be getting back now uh... james and the house-” Jack nodded, “Yeah, of course. Uh, here-” 

He held out his arm and they teleported away, landing in front of Skylar’s house. Hunter frozen to the spot by the sudden movement. Skylar laughed, watching him look around as he tried to figure out what had happened. 

Jack smiled, going to let go of Skylar’s hand. Skylar grabbed it again, causing Jack to look down at the girl. 

“Thank you.” Skylar said. Jack smiled, “yeah uh- for sure...” She smiled before going to grab Hunter, “I’ll see you tomorrow!” She called after him. Jack smiled, “bye!” 

Skylar sprinted away to James’s house, almost tripping on a few rocks as she tried to get her mind on the right page. James was outside in his garden, putting away his tools when he noticed Skylar running over. He smiled, waving. 

“Hey!” He called. Skylar stopped, breathing deeply, “Hey! How’s it going?” James nodded, “Pretty good! You?” Skylar laughed, “Pretty good too haha!” James laughed, “that’s good! I set all the stuff I have in a chest by the front door if you want to take a look at it, I don’t have many ideas and figured I’d ask you about it.” Skylar nodded, “ok! What exactly are we building?” 

James laughed, “guess that would help, uhm it’s basically just an area that can hold the entire village... They wanted to build a building that could do that anyways and this seemed like a good excuse to finally do it.” Skylar nodded, “alright, I’ll take a look.” 

She walked to the front of the house, opening the chest as she inspected it’s components. It was all oak and cobblestone. She was surprised they had so much of it considering how long it took villagers to break blocks compared to her. James walked out the front door, “that enough?” Skylar looked up, “Should be! I have some more stuff we can use too if it comes to that.” James nodded, “sweet! The land it just over there.” 

He pointed to an empty patch of land towards the center of the village. Skylar nodded, “Cool, I think we could have this done by morning!” James looked at her, surprised, “Really? How fast can you build?” Skylar laughed, “Oh uh, I’ve been building my entire life and I’ve gotten pretty good at it, I’m just saying if we both work as fast as we can, we might be able to...” James nodded, “Oh, that’s still crazy fast! I guess that’s why I asked you to help though.” 

Skylar laughed nervously; she was glad that he didn’t pay any more attention to it. If he had known how hard building was, that would’ve been a whole other story. 

The two walked over to the space, Skylar pulling out her tools on the way. She looked over towards the woods, Jack was still sitting at the beginning of them on a grass block, looking their way. He must’ve not had anything else to do. 

“So I mined out the base to get an idea of how big we wanted it, I don’t know if it’s what would work best...” Skylar quickly looked over, “Oh uh, yeah that’s perfect thank you!” James nodded, “I don’t really know how to be of much help to you, is there anything I can do?” 

Skylar looked around the area, “Do you maybe want to take this wood and make some fence posts and stairs?” She handed James a stack of wood. James took it eagerly, “yeah! I’ll be back!” Skylar sighed, looking at the area. 

She thought it would be nice to have the building, then a balcony that went around the building with the roof still covering it, fence posts holding it up on the corners. She nodded, seemed like a good plan. 

She walked forward, taking the stack of cobblestone as she placed it above the grass. Counting three blocks in, she started placing down the walls. She was almost halfway done around the building when James came back. 

He stood there, mouth hanging open like he had just seen a blaze in the real world. Skylar giggled, “Everything alright?” James smiled, “It’s amazing Skylar- Wow! And so quick too!!” Skylar sighed, smiling, “It’s coming together isn’t it heh. I still need to do a lot more decorating stuff once I’m finished, not as near to being done as you’d think.” She continued placing blocks down. 

James laughed, “It’s still crazy how fast you can do all this! It would’ve taken me all night to do what you did in 45 minutes.” Skylar smiled, “Practice makes almost perfect I guess.” James nodded, “apparently” He looked up at Skylar as she finished the wall she was on, “Want me to do anything else?” 

Skylar looked up, “Oh uhm.... you could make some slabs!” James nodded, “Cool.” Skylar felt kind of bad for taking over, but at the same time, she had a lot more experience than James did. Not to mention she now knew that they were two completely different people. 

She hurried along, finishing the walls rather quickly before taking the stairs that James had given her and starting on the roof. Roofs were always Skylar’s least favorite part of building houses; Exactly why she never did vaulted stair roofs, instead, just doing flat ones. 

They weren’t so much hard as they were annoying. But eventually, she had finished. The sun wasn’t coming up yet, but she knew it was close. She yawned, rubbing her eyes. It hadn’t been a super labor-intensive day, but she was still tired, 

James came stumbling out of his house, walking over rather slowly to where Skylar was working. Skylar could tell he was exhausted. She smiled, “Why don’t you just go to bed?” James looked up at her, yawning, “No way. Not unless you are.” Skylar rolled her eyes, smiling, “I’m used to doing this, I’m not really tired.” She lied, “go to bed so you can have an effective day tomorrow please!” James laughed, “You need sleep too!” Skylar laughed, “I will, maybe. I’m super close to finishing this, I might just power through and do it all now.” 

James shook his head, laughing, “You’re crazy.” Skylar raised an eyebrow, “Oh yeah?” James smiled, yawning as his eyes started to open less and less, “y-yeah-” Skylar laughed, “Good niiiiighhtt!!” James laughed, “Please don’t get yourself killed out here.” Skylar smiled, “I won’t” 

She watched as he slowly made his way to his house, making sure a mob didn’t come out of nowhere and attack him. She turned back to the building, placing the last few stairs on the roof before jumping to the ground. All that was left was to decorate the inside, a task she knew James could do, but decided to just get it over with herself. 

She grabbed the slabs, placing them around the big room, trying to make it so some could at least sit down. By the time she had finished, the sun had come up and villagers were starting to leave their houses. 

Skylar smiled, placing her almost broken pickaxe on the stairs of the building as she woke up Hunter, who had passed out next to the stairs almost right after they had started. 

The wolf jumped up, already excited to be awake and start another day. Skylar yawned, following as Hunter ran back to their home. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


	6. Courage

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is almost done!! I estimate about 2 more chapters and it'll be finished!! This is a lil cheesy but just a heads up that the rest of this will be even more cheesy so buckle up fam, it's gonna be one heck of a ride!!
> 
> If you've made it this far, thank you sooooo much for reading, it means a lot!! Love y'all!! Enjoy!

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

She rounded the corner, taken by surprise as Jack was standing there, waiting. He looked surprised to see her, “Whoa, I didn’t know you were already awake.” Skylar laughed, “Jokes on you, I never went to sleep!” She yawned. 

Jack smiled, “I can see that now.” She smiled, “So, we going to go fight some Enderman or what?” Jack laughed, “We’re going to go find somewhere nice in the woods were I know some Enderman like to hangout around, and you’re going to sleep while I get the pearls.” Skylar looked up at Jack, slightly annoyed, “there’s no way-” Jack grabbed her arm, “Watch me.” 

Before Skylar could say anything, they were standing in the middle of a dark, shadowy forest. It didn’t look like a part of the forest that she’d been in so far. She turned to Jack as he tightened his grip on her hand, “Now over here.” Skylar looked at him, becoming increasingly annoyed. Although, she couldn’t exactly bring herself to be mad, “I’m not a child you know.” 

Jack continued leading her to a spot near where they had teleported to with bushes and a lily of the valley flower beside them. Jack smiled, pointing to the area, “Rest here.” Skylar looked up at him, “I want to help you.” 

Jack laughed, “and I’m trying to help you. You need sleep regardless of if you feel tired or not.” Skylar frowned, “I’ve gone without sleep for a night before.” Jack smiled, “then you don’t need to do it again.” Skylar yawned, “Fine, just please don’t die.” Jack laughed, “I’ll try not to. Same for you.” Skylar nodded, still slightly bugged. She must have been bad at hiding it because Jack noticed. 

“I know you’re more than capable of doing this, but you need rest Sky. Please sleep.” Skylar looked up at Jack, she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t planning on just taking off after he left, but he almost looked worried. She sighed, “I will. Promise.” 

Jack smiled, “I’ll be back before dark.” She nodded as he teleported away, laying her head on the bushes behind her. She smiled, letting herself fall asleep. 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Jack sighed as he walked up next to one of the Enderman in the forest. The mob turned to face Jack, nodding as he stared at him. Jack stared back at the mob, he didn’t want to kill, but he had to. There was no other choice. He knew Skylar was exhausted and on top of that, how much she was dreading killing them too. 

He sighed, walking forward as he raised his arm to attack. The other Enderman stumbled back, not saying a word as it didn’t even fight back. Strange how it worked like that, how mobs almost knew when they needed to let their attacker win and lessen the effort in fighting back, even though to anyone else, it just looked like and Enderman fighting and Enderman for no reason at all. 

It only took a few hits before the Enderman cried out, falling to the ground. Jack ran forward, already feeling like a monster, as he looked around the area. This one had fortunately dropped an ender pearl. He picked it up, teleporting back to where he had left Skylar. 

Walking closer, he noticed she was already sleeping, he was glad she had listened to him. He tossed the pearl on the ground next to her, watching as it pixelated into nothing as Skylar’s inventory absorbed it. He teleported away again. Continuing the process until he had enough ender pearls to get Skylar to the End. 

He estimated he’d been out for around 4 hours when he finally teleported back to where Skylar was. It was still sunny out, although, the sunset was nearing. Skylar was still sleeping and while he had been practically begging for her to go to sleep, he knew he needed to wake her up or else she wouldn’t sleep that night. 

He walked over, kneeling on the ground beside her as he gently shook her shoulder, “Sky?” The girl’s eye lids moved until they finally opened, her hazel eyes staring back at Jack. Jack smiled, “Sorry to wake you, but it’s almost time to go back.” Skylar rolled onto her back, stretching her arms out in front of her. 

“sorry, heh” She replied, smiling as she took the hand Jack offered to her. “No worries, did you sleep for long?” 

Skylar nodded, “mhm, right after you left.” Jack smiled, “Good. Oh, and before I forget-” Skylar watched as Jack held out a handful of small blue/green marble looking objects. 

She took them from him, carefully placing them in her inventory. “Enderpearls. It should be more than enough of what you’ll need.” Skylar nodded, “Thank you.” Jack sighed, “no problem.” 

Skylar looked up at him, a frown tugging at her lips, “I’m sorry.” Jack looked down, “It’s ok.” Skylar shook her head, “No it’s not. I should’ve-” Jack laughed, “Sky, it doesn’t bother me as much as you might think. I mean sure, it stinks. I wouldn’t choose to have killed all of them... but it’s done, and it was done with good intent. Don’t feel sorry.” 

Skylar sighed, “You sure?” Jack smiled, reaching out his hand, “Positive.” Skylar nodded, reaching forward and grabbing his hand as the two immediately teleported away. 

Skylar looked up at her little house, smiling as Hunter ran up in front of the two and sat down. Jack sighed, letting go of her hand, “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow then?” 

Skylar continued staring blankly at her house, “I’m going to go tomorrow.” Jack looked down, taken aback by her words, “w-what? Already?” Skylar frowned, “I’m going to fight the dragon tomorrow.” 

She clenched her fists, looking up to meet Jack’s gaze. The enderman stood there, silent. “I’m going to beat the dragon tomorrow.” She could feel what felt like sheer power building up inside her as she almost glared at the Enderman. 

Jack sighed, “That’s really quick, I uh- that's awesome Sky” Skylar looked down, swallowing as she breathed in, “Yeah um, I guess it is.” 

Skylar looked down at Hunter, the wolf was sitting there, smiling back at her. The second she tried to smile back at him, she broke down. Not enough that Jack could hear or see her, but just enough for her to feel embarrassed. She couldn’t help it. 

She was almost certain she would die. She simply wasn’t ready to beat the dragon yet. She knelt down, reaching forward as she pet Hunter on the forehead. 

She wasn’t ready to leave, not this time. 

Jack looked down at Skylar, squinting as he heard a sniffle. He stared at the girl for a few moments longer, only to notice her slightly shaking. 

He sat down next to her, “Hey, you alright?” Skylar laughed, raising her hand to her face as she nodded. Jack frowned, placing a hand on her shoulder, “What’s wrong?” 

Skylar stared at Hunter for a little bit, before slowly turning to look at Jack, revealing she was actually crying. She had never been more humiliated. She wasn’t supposed to cry. She was supposed to face things how they were, and not what they could be. 

Jack sighed, frowning even more as he pulled her closer and hugged her. He felt it strange to hug a builder, but in the moment, he didn’t care. 

Skylar frowned, wrapping her arms tighter around the only thing that had ever shown any sort of compassion to her for the past several years. She felt safe. That might’ve seemed like a good thing to anyone else, but it only made her cry even more. She hated it. 

She let out several shaky breathes of air as Jack continued embracing her, eventually pushing her back, “What’s wrong?” 

Skylar shook her head, “Nothing. Nothing is wrong.” Jack frowned, “Obviously.” 

Skylar laughed, wiping away a tear before it fell down her cheek, “I can’t. I can’t lose this world.” Jack looked at her, confused to say the least. “What do you mean?” 

Skylar looked down at her hands to avoid eye contact, “I’ve left so many worlds behind so carelessly. But this time-” She laughed, “This time, I have something.” She looked up at Jack, “I have you, and Hunter, and James, and the village and- and I don’t want to give that up. I can’t give any of that up.” 

Jack sighed, “I understand.” He looked up at Skylar, “Beating that dragon isn’t technically necessary Sky. You don’t have to-” Skylar grabbed Jack’s hand from off of her shoulder, “No. I have to. I have to at least try.” She squeezed his hand before letting it go. Turning to get ready and leave. 

“Skylar, when was the last time you did something because YOU wanted to. Not just because it was your “destiny” or whatnot.” Jack asked. 

Skylar froze, turning to look the monster the eyes again as her own started tearing up, “I’m choosing to put you guys before myself. Nothing that you, or this game tells me can change my mind.” 

Jack frowned, “Sky, please-” Skylar turned and stood up, “Save your breath Jack. I’m fighting that dragon tomorrow. Even if it means I never see you again.” 

She sighed, calling for Hunter to follow as she headed for her door. 

She opened the door, walking inside and shutting it behind her as she sighed. She felt bad for the way things had ended, but Jack didn’t understand. 

She had to do this. For him. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


	7. the End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kflaskdjflashfkjas here you go guyssss!! love you allll, enjoy!!!!

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Skylar sighed. She had been awake for almost 2 hours before the sun finally started coming up. 

She had woken up and immediately started thinking about the dragon, bringing nothing but anxiety to her as she tried to brush it off, failing miserably in the process. 

But finally, the sun was up. She walked over to her chest, going through everything she would need. 

She had a bow, diamond sword, plenty of arrows, all the meat she could carry, 3 water buckets, her armor, the enderpearls and eyes of ender she had crafted upon waking up that morning, a stack of torches, a few stacks of dirt blocks, and a diamond pickaxe. 

She checked everything one last time before walking over to Hunter. The wolf looked very excited. Skylar knew it was because he thought he’d get to leave again today. 

She smiled back at the creature, patting him on the head as she beckoned for him to follow her out the door. 

Skylar shielded her eyes from the sun as she peered into the forest, almost instantly finding Jack. She sighed, walking Hunter over to a spot on the grass and instructing him to sit. 

She smiled at him, “Hey bud,” Hunter continued smiling at her as she hugged him, “I need you to sit here for a while until I come back, ok?” The wolf barked, wagging his tail energetically as Skylar smiled, petting him once more on the head before standing up and heading to wear Jack was. 

If she died, the game would automatically wash any memory he had of Skylar from his memory, allowing him to move on with his life as if Skylar never existed in the first place. 

She had seen it with the villagers who passed away and their pets. 

She sighed, trying not to think too much about it. Jack smiled as she approached, attempting to calm her down as he could tell she was nervous. 

Skylar sighed, “You know where to go?” Jack nodded, holding out his hand. Skylar stared at the enderman, grabbing his hand as they reappeared in a pitch-black area of a stronghold. 

She pulled out a torch from her inventory as they looked around. She noticed how uncomfortable Jack looked. “Do you know where the portal itself is?” 

Jack looked down, “Yeah, this way.” 

The two walked through various tunnels and hallways, each of the turns looking the same until finally, they reached the room. 

Skylar took a deep breath, stepping though the moss-covered entrance and into the large room. There at its center, stood two separate staircases, each leading to a platform of beige colored blocks. 

She shook her head, trying to comprehend that this could be it. She looked up at Jack, who looked equally as nervous. “Hey, are you ok?” She asked, laughing lightheartedly. 

Jack didn’t seem to think it was too funny. He stared back at Skylar while her laughing slowly stopped. “What’s wrong?” Jack shook his head, “This is it. You’re here, and you’re actually doing this right now.” 

Skylar smiled, trying to hide how much her whole body was shaking at that moment. “Yeah, crazy huh.” Jack turned to face Skylar, “Skylar I can’t follow you there.” 

Skylar felt her entire body sink into the floor. She hadn’t realized. 

“Oh. Right.” She choked out. 

Jack frowned, “Don’t worry, you’ll do fine just- I uh, I wanted to tell you so I could uh, say goodbye, I guess. Not that I think you’re going to die-” Skylar nodded, smiling, “No I get it, don’t worry.” Jack laughed, “Sorry that came out so negative.” 

Skylar giggled, looking up at the enderman for a second before speaking, “I’m going to miss you, you know.” Jack looked down at her, “Yeah, I'm going to miss you too.” He laughed, lightly punching Skylar in the arm, “But not for too long, you’ll be back soon.” 

Skylar smiled, “Hopefully.” Jack grabbed her hand, “You will be back soon.” Skylar laughed, squeezing his hand, “I’ll be back. And you won’t be an enderman.” 

Jack smiled, “And I won’t be an enderman.” Skylar let go of his hand, walking forward as she switched to holding the eyes of ender in her hand. She placed them in the slots around the frame, watching as the portal ignited with the last one. 

She looked back at Jack, shaking uncontrollably by that point. She breathed deeply as Jack smiled back at her. “I believe in you Sky.” Skylar smiled, feeling a sudden, stronger feeling of dread than any of the ones prior come over her. She couldn’t lie. Jack meant the world to her. 

And not just as her closest friend. 

She looked down at the portal, pulling the sword Jack had given her from her inventory before she met his eyes again. “I-I love you Jack.” 

The enderman’s eyes widened as he looked like he was about to say something in return. Skylar didn’t know if she would ever get to hear what he said as she stepped into the portal. 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

She looked around, the End was something that Skylar never understood; but thanks to Jack, it all felt like so much more than just some stupid overgrown lizard. 

She breathed in, and out. Looking out at the end blocks in front of her and she sprinted and jumped off of the obsidian platform. 

Careful not to look any enderman in the eyes, she ran to the first tower, placing a water bucket down and using the dirt blocks to climb to the top of the obsidian tower. 

The dragon hadn’t taken much notice to her presence yet, thankfully. She broke a block of iron bars in front of the end crystal before hitting it with her fist. The mechanism exploded, sending Skylar high in the air and falling to ground. 

She landed on her feet, the water breaking her fall as she fought her way to the block, she originally placed the water as she collected it again. 

She snuck around the back of the tower just in time for the dragon to launch ender acid her way. She grabbed onto the side of the tower, using it to propel her even faster as she took off for the second tower- repeating the same process over again as the dragon went around in circles from the front of the tower. 

After what felt like forever, Skylar peeked around the corner of the 10th obsidian tower; breathing heavily as she watched the dragon fly around, trying to see if she had forgotten a tower. 

She opened her inventory, eating enough food to fill her hunger bar and grabbing her diamond sword. 

This was it. 

This was the fight. 

This was the part she had died every time, without fail. 

She walked around the corner of the tower, looking up as the dragon flew above her, gracefully swooping to land in the center above the exit portal frame. 

“You won’t win this time. Not anymore.” She muttered to herself before screaming and sprinting as fast as she could straight at the dragon. 

The monster turned its head, roaring as it fired more Ender acid her way. 

Skylar focused on the purple bullets coming towards her as she started running in all sorts of directions, dodging them all successfully. She jumped up as high as she could, raising her sword as she thrust its blade into the side of the beast. 

The dragon cried out, quickly opening its wings and taking off towards the towers. Skylar kept a close eye on it as she switched her sword for her bow. She smiled; the dragon was in for it now. 

She pulled back on the wooden arrow and closed one eye, focusing in on slightly in front of the dragon. Letting the string go, she watched as the arrow flew and hit the monster directly in the head. 

She smiled, grabbing another and repeating the process. The dragon continued firing the Ender acid at her, the act now proving to be more annoying than scary. 

Skylar had never made it this far before, and the nervousness building up inside of her made her well aware of it. 

By the time the dragon had landed, she had drained almost a fourth of its health. 

Her heart was pounding and she could barely breathe as she forced herself to run towards the dragon in the center of the circle again. Standing directly beneath it, she raised her sword and fought harder than she ever had. By the time it took off again, it was down to half health. 

Skylar quickly went to change to her bow, the process being slowed due to how shaky her hands had become. She must’ve been more preoccupied with the task then she thought as she was suddenly thrown from her spot. 

She gasped for air as the purple fog around her seemed to suffocate her lungs, watching in horror as her health bar slowly declined. 

7 hearts 

6 hearts 

5 hearts 

4 hearts 

She jumped up, leaving her bow on the ground as she ran out of the cloud. She groaned as the dragon launched another one her way. 

Making a beeline for the closest tower, Skylar hid herself behind it’s wall and sank to the floor, catching her breathe. 

She opened her inventory, downing as much food as she had left. She looked back out at the dragon in defeat as she realized that was the last of it. She couldn’t afford to lose. That was all she kept telling herself. 

She looked over to where she had just been hit with the ender acid. Her bow was lying in the middle of the area, right next to the dragon. It was too risky. 

She reached for her sword, gripping it’s handle as she breathed in, “Now or never Sky.” She looked over at the dragon, placing her right foot behind her as she sprung forward. 

The dragon only turned around once Skylar had hit it, and due to Skylar now being underneath the dragon, it couldn’t do anything. 

Skylar hit the dragon as many times and with as much strength as she could muster before it started to spread its wings again. She watched as it took off, firing another Ender acid at her as it did. 

She ran over to her bow, inspecting it before pulling another arrow to the string. She pulled it back, eyeing the dragon as she fired again. 

Direct hit. 

She aimed once more, lowering it as she stared more closely at the dragon. 

The wings. 

If she could tear the wing at all, it would ground the dragon, giving her the higher ground. 

She pulled the arrow tight again, aiming directly at the dragon’s wings. Letting it go, she watched as the arrow soared through the air. Another direct hit. 

She smiled as she watched the monster plumet to the ground, taking a huge load of damage as it did. 

Skylar screamed, charging straight for the beast again, sword in hand as it sat of the ground trying to process what had happened. 

She jumped in the air, landing on the dragon’s back, piercing the reptile in its side once more. She swung again and again as the creature helplessly tried to turn it’s head to fire at her. 

Skylar could tell she was slowing down, her hits were doing much less damage than before and she could tell that soon she’d be doing barely anything. 

She jumped back as all the sudden the creature cried out once more. 

The entire dragon itself exploded, sending Skylar flying backwards as she crashed against a tower wall. She watched as everything around her went white, and fell to the ground with a colorful splash. 

She recognized the sparkles as experience, watching as they all slowly made their way to her. Her XP bar quickly rose. Surpassing any level she’d ever been at before. She watched as her bow and sword changed to a dark, crystal looking solid. He armor turning into something similar, only softer. 

She stood up, legs almost giving out from underneath her as she moved a piece of her hair from her face. 

She stood there, tears fighting their way out of her eyes as she realized what had just happened. She had actually done it. 

She had actually defeated the enderdragon.


	8. Beginning 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is beyond cheesy. I don't care. I needed to write romance and so I took it here... I'm sorry, I couldn't help it
> 
> aNyWayS, ENJOY

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Walking forwards, she looked around. Watching as she was suddenly surrounded by people who looked just like her, instead of the enderman. 

They were all wearing similar outfits, maroon and gold colored jackets, and they all seemed very confused. Skylar smiled, realizing they were the people Jack had told her about. 

She looked over at the edge of the little island like structure as a small, one block portal stood there. “End City.” 

Skylar turned around, finding herself face to face with one of the women that used to be an Enderman. She stepped back as more started to come closer to her. 

“What?” Skylar asked, hesitantly. The woman smiled, “That little portal- it leads to End City. It’s where we’ve been... Most of us at least.” Skylar nodded, “Oh uh- thanks!” 

The woman laughed, walking up to Skylar as she embraced her in a hug. Skylar hugged the woman back, still a little nervous for some reason she didn’t understand. 

“How did you do it?” The woman asked, beaming as she stared into Skylar’s eyes. Skylar laughed, “Oh uh- Well, I've tried a few times already... failed every attempt. But I actually- I actually did it this time...” Skylar smiled to herself as she repeated the statement. 

The woman smiled, “Thank you. Thank you so much....” She leaned forward implying she wanted to know who she was thanking. Skylar laughed, “Skylar!” The woman nodded, “Thank you so much, Skylar.” Skylar nodded, “My pleasure...” 

“Rose Gowell.” The woman replied. Skylar smiled, “Nice to meet you Rose.” Rose smiled, “Nice to meet you too.” 

She giggled as a young boy ran up to the side of Rose, hiding behind her as he looked up at Skylar. Rose smiled, picking the boy up as she hugged him, “Did you see what our dear friend Skylar just did?” 

The boy smiled, nodding. Rose giggled, “What do you say?” The boy looked down, “Thank you...” Skylar smiled, “You’re so very welcome, what’s your name?” The boy smiled, “Gavin.....” He looked up at her, “h-how did you get here?” 

Skylar smiled, “Through a portal that was hidden underground.” Gavin smiled, “Really? How did you find it?” Skylar laughed, “My friend showed it to me, he was an enderman just like you guys, actually.” 

Rose looked up, “Wait, what?” Skylar smiled, “Jack Hampton-” Rose smiled, “No way- MARY!!” Skylar looked in confusion as Rose turned to the crowd and started walking through it. 

She turned and looked at the center of the island. Standing over a large, black and white covered portal, was what looked like a pile of ash. Skylar looked back at the crowd, everyone was talking amongst themselves. 

She sighed, jogging towards the portal as she inspected the thing. It didn’t take her too long to realize it was an egg. She laughed, deciding to leave it there. 

Turning towards the group again, she smiled, “You guys know how to get out?” A man that was closer to her smiled, giving her a thumbs up. Skylar smiled, turning around as she leapt into the portal. 

The world went black for a second again, only to eventually turn back into the mossy, humid, familiar sight of the stronghold that Jack had taken her to. She walked down the stairs, smiling as she heard fast steps come barreling down the hallway outside the portal room. 

She looked up, smiling as she found herself face to face with a boy. He looked about the same age as her, brown hair, dark brown eyes, and only slightly taller than her. The boy slowly walked around the corner, letting his hands leave the cobblestone wall as he didn’t take his eyes off of hers. 

Skylar smiled, “Jack?” The boy smiled, laughing before sprinting towards her. He grabbed her arm, pulling her off the stairs as he wrapped his arms around her. 

Skylar smiled, refusing to acknowledge the few tears running down her cheeks. She hugged him, laughing along too as he lifted her up. “Sky you did it! You actually did it!” 

Skylar nodded, still laughing, “Yeah- we did!” She pushed herself away from him, grabbing his hands as he continued smiling at her like an idiot. “And I couldn’t have done it without you-” She smiled, “I wouldn’t have wanted to do it without you.” 

Jack smiled, squeezing her hands, “Skylar?” Skylar smiled, “hmm?” Jack raised her hands, looking her in the eyes. “I love you. So much.” Skylar looked back at him, smiling even more. “I love you Jack” 

Jack smiled, laughing as he moved his hand to her cheek, pulling her waist closer as he kissed her. 

Skylar wished she could never leave, but ended up pushing away each other as all the sudden more people started coming through the portal. 

Jack laughed, watching as everyone started piling in the small room. He grabbed Skylar’s hand, pulling her out the door as they ran through the halls to a hole in the ceiling. The sky was visible from where they were. Thankfully, the stronghold wasn’t too deep. 

Skylar grabbed more stacks of blocks from her inventory and handed them to Jack, tossing him a pickaxe before she started jumping up. 

It didn’t take long for them to reach the surface, but when they did, they were greeted with a dark sky full of stars. Jack turned to Skylar, laughing, “Darn, now we have to take the long way home.” 

Skylar grabbed his hand, smiling, “I’m ok with that.” Jack smiled, pulling her towards the direction they had apparently come from as they started running home.   
\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Skylar sighed, feeling the rather cold air brush past her face as she chased Jack through the dense forest upon arriving home. 

She had never been so happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey youuuuu!!
> 
> If you've read this far, then first off: how bored are you? Like as the author, I know how much this kinda sucks so I applaud you!! And second: Thank you sooooo much for reading! It means a lot!! You're amazing and I hope you know how much I appreciate you!! Love y'all! I hope you have a great day cause you deserve it!! :D


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